Q&A: Jessica Chastain on 'Eleanor Rigby,' Cannes

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CANNES, France — Years ago at a film festival, Jessica Chastain saw a short by Ned Benson and chased him down to say she wanted to work with him.

"I was his first fan," she says.

When Benson later penned a script about a man's relationship with his wife before and after a tragic event, Chastain urged him to develop a female perspective: "It was just me wanting equal opportunity," she says, flashing a smile.